Singapore, 04 August 2011 – Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Singapore Press Holdings Foundation (SPH Foundation) today donated a total of $400,000 to 20 charities at their annual charity giving event at the School of the Arts.

SPH donated $200,000 to 10 charities serving the elderly, while SPH Foundation donated another $200,000 to 10 children and youth charities.

Dr Cham Tao Soon, Acting Chairman of SPH, and Mr Alan Chan, Chief Executive Officer of SPH and Director of SPH Foundation, presented the cheque to RADM (RET) Kwek Siew Jin, President of National Council of Social Service (NCSS), and Ms Jennie Chua, Chairman of Community Chest, who received the donation on behalf of the beneficiaries.

The SPH and SPH Foundation Charity Giving is part of the media group's extensive corporate social responsibility efforts. Both SPH and the Foundation have championed various charitable causes over the years. In recognition of its sustained contributions to social services, SPH was awarded the President's Social Service Award (Corporate Category) at the Istana two days ago (2 August).

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Dr Cham Tao Soon, Acting Chairman of SPH, said: "The charity giving is our annual gift of love and hope to the Community Chest and its many beneficiaries. As Southeast Asia's leading media organisation, it is important that we lead by example and give back to the community. We hope our donations will help improve the lives of the needy around us, and inspire others to do the same."

Close to 200 beneficiaries and caregivers attended today's annual charity event. They were treated to a tea reception, followed by a special concert by the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir. Formed in 2006, the Choir performs choral masterworks with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO).

Ms Jennie Chua, Chairman of Community Chest, said: “In the past eight years, SPH and SPH Foundation have contributed over $2.7 million to children, youth and elderly causes supported by Community Chest. SPH and SPH Foundation’s generous donation of $400,000 this year will go towards providing education and therapy for children with special needs, counselling services for at-risk youths and specialised care for frail and needy elderly. We are grateful to SPH and SPH Foundation for their long term commitment to make a difference to the lives of our beneficiaries.”

One of the beneficiaries at the event was Mr Osman bin Ameng, an 82-year-old resident at AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens. Previously homeless, Mr Osman had been hospitalised at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for over a year for recurrent fainting spells. At the point of his admission into the Home, he only had a balance of $902.07 in savings. Following his admission to AWWA, Mr Osman’s health has improved significantly. His programme fees have been waived and the Home also provides him with a monthly food allowance of $250. Through the recreational activities organised by the Home, Mr Osman has also learned to socialise with others and keep active as an elderly citizen.

A grateful Mr Osman said: “I am happy staying at the Home as I have a lot of friends to talk to and activities to keep myself occupied. It was really an unpleasant experience having to stay in the hospital for such a long time without a place to be discharged to. I therefore treasure this opportunity very much.”

Newspapers, Magazines and Book Publishing
In Singapore, SPH publishes 18 newspaper titles in four languages. Every day, 3 million individuals or 77 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications. SPH also publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. SPH's subsidiaries, Straits Times Press and Focus Publishing, produce quality books and periodicals in English and Chinese.

Internet and Mobile
Beyond print, the Internet editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 263 million page views with 18 million unique visitors every month. Apart from SPH AsiaOne portal, SPH's online and new media initiatives include an online marketplace for products, services and employment, ST701; Stomp, omy.sg, and The Straits Times RazorTV.

Broadcasting
SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today. In the radio business, SPH has an 80 per cent stake in SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations Radio 100.3 in Chinese and 91.3FM in English.

Properties
SPH owns and manages Paragon, the prime retail and office complex in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping belt. Its latest retail development, The Clementi Mall, started business operations in 2011. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, has also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

About the Singapore Press Holdings Foundation
The Singapore Press Holdings Foundation, a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character, was first set up as the Press Foundation of Singapore in January 2003 to help build a lifelong learning community that embraces language enrichment, creativity, diversity, healthy living and sports. The seed contribution of $20 million to the Foundation came from media group Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. It was renamed Singapore Press Holdings Foundation in May 2005.